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Picturing climate change in the West

Rachel Sauer — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 20:57:22 +0000

Picturing climate change in the West Rachel Sauer Wed, 04/02/2025 - 14:57

Rachel Sauer

What began as a hobby for ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� economics undergrad Lucas Gauthier came together as a photographic portfolio documenting the already-evident and potential effects of climate change

Lucas Gauthier and his family moved to Colorado when he was in 6th grade, and after a decade of fairly frequent moves—both parents were in the military—this is where everything made sense: mountains for climbing, runs for skiing, trails for hiking and rivers for rafting.

They took some convincing, but eventually his parents let him venture out on his own—forays that grew longer and longer and took him farther and farther into the Colorado wilderness.

Lucas Gauthier, a senior majoring in economics, has photographically documented his adventures in western landscapes since he was in high school.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� four or five years ago, he began taking pictures along the way, usually on his phone. The photography wasn’t the point, necessarily, “but I found that, especially in Colorado, hiking puts you in some very beautiful places,” he explains. “I hike, and the pictures happen while I’m hiking.”

A through line for what had become a large portfolio of photographs emerged in spring 2024. Gauthier, a senior majoring in economics with a focus on natural resource management, was taking ENLP 3100—Complex Leadership Challenges, a class that requires students to complete three projects during the semester.

The first two projects were more technically focused, but the third emphasized creating something of personal value. So, Gauthier thought about all the places in Colorado that he loves, scrolling through both his memories and his photos. He realized that what began as an almost offhanded hobby was actually documenting places that would be or already were altered by climate change.

From that realization was born Climate Change in the West: A Photographic Journal, a multimedia project that incorporates not only data about things like wildfire, heat wave and drought risk and their potential for significant economic impact, but makes it personal with the scenes of incomparable beauty he has witnessed and documented.

“My interest in water specifically came from my interest in hiking and skiing and an interest in all outdoor sports,” Gauthier says. “When people say there’s going to be less rain, less precipitation, that’s a big deal for me.

“I worked and lived in Breckenridge, which is a tourism-dependent area, so if there’s not enough water, that’s weeks of ski season that are lost, and there might not be a rafting season, so that’s where you start to see the overlaps between how climate change is affecting natural systems and the actual economic impacts on livelihoods.”

Capturing what he sees

“My interest in photography has been in capturing this broad swath of environments that we get to play in—as a way to memorialize the experience for myself, and also to share it with others,” Gauthier says.

He took two photography classes in high school, neither of which focused on outdoor or landscape photography, “but I do think those gave me a good idea for how to compose photos and set them up, how to look for different lighting and visual elements,” he says. “They got me in the mindset of thinking, ‘This is something that strikes me, and I’ll see if I can frame it in way that works with what I want to capture.’”

Gauthier was also in high school when he began tackling ever-more-ambitious climbs and started working his way through Colorado’s 58 fourteeners, a goal he completed over the summer. Of those 58, he climbed at least 45 solo.

“(Climbing solo) is kind of a mix of preference and necessity,” Gauthier explains. “It’s easier when the only person you have to plan for logistically is yourself. And when you’re trying to beat lighting and thunder, it’s best to move light and fast.”

However, he never moves so fast that he can’t look around and, if he’s able, to capture what he’s seeing in a photograph. And he returns to certain favorite places, enough that he can compare them season by season or year by year.

“We’ve had a mix of good and bad snow years, but it’s been very noticeable when a particular area that usually has good (snow) coverage into May or June has already melted,” he says. “And there have been times when I’ve hiked through area and a few years later it’s a burn scar, which is a very visceral sense of change in the environment.

“Then there are little things like aspens are yellowing at a different date, wildflowers are blooming and stop blooming at different times. While it’s not as black and white a change, moving those transition points is definitely something that adds up in aggregate.”

Factors of climate change

Now, as he works his way through Colorado’s 100 highest peaks—he’s summited more than 80—and completes his bachelor’s degree, he still is conceptualizing what it all means. Many climate change models are forecast to take decades—if not centuries—to happen, but Gauthier is already seeing anecdotal evidence of them. What does that mean for how he exists in the outdoors and what he’s going to do after he graduates?

“I feel like there is a lot of doom and gloom, and I definitely feel that, but at the same time I am very much a person who feels like I have to say what I’m going to do about it,” he says. “With my area of emphasis in environmental economics, it’s about acknowledging that we have these issues and asking how we address them through actual, tangible means. For me, that means engaging in actual political and broader social processes. When I’m engaged in something, I feel less powerless.

“I think the main point that I wanted to communicate with this project was emphasizing how each of these different factors of climate change are integrated,” he says. “Fires affect water quality, flooding affects agriculture and all of it impacts places that I and a lot of other people love.”

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What began as a hobby for ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� economics undergrad Lucas Gauthier came together as a photographic portfolio documenting the already-evident and potential effects of climate change.

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CU prof fighting to keep Latin classes alive through video storytelling

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 15:51:17 +0000

CU prof fighting to keep Latin classes alive through video storytelling Rachel Sauer Tue, 04/01/2025 - 09:51

Cody DeBos

For Reina Callier, learning Latin ‘is like lifting weights for your brain’

When a student in one of Reina Callier’s Latin classes said, “I came for the language, I stayed for the vibes,” she laughed, but the phrase stuck with her.

It captured something essential about Latin classrooms. Beyond conjugations and declensions, they offer students a haven for community, curiosity and a shared passion for the ancient world.

In recent years, though, that community has been shrinking.

Reina Callier, a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� teaching assistant professor of classics, notes that “Latin survives because people love it. And as long as we keep sharing that love, it’s not going anywhere.”

“Enrollment in Latin classes, especially at the secondary level, has largely been declining,” Callier explains. “During COVID, Latin classes were seen as non-essential, so they lost a lot of students. And they’ve been having a hard time bringing the numbers back up.”

For Callier, a teaching assistant professor of classics and the Latin Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder, this trend is more than an academic concern.

She wasn’t alone in her worries. In response to falling enrollment rates, the Colorado Classics Association (CCA) formed a committee dedicated to promoting interest in Latin classes.

The solution? A project that would convey the benefits of learning Latin to students in their own words.

A language in decline

Across the country, Latin programs have struggled to justify their existence in an education system increasingly focused on STEM fields and workforce development. In some districts, administrators have proposed cutting Latin entirely, forcing teachers and students to fight for their programs.

In collaboration with the CCA and local high school educators, Callier helped spearhead You Belong in Latin, a video project designed to remind high school students why Latin is worth learning.

“We finally came up with the idea for a video, because it’s something you can share easily. It’s more entertaining than just looking at a brochure that says, ‘Here’s why Latin is a good thing to take,’” Callier says.

The project quickly took shape as teachers across Colorado filmed interviews with their students, capturing firsthand accounts of what Latin means to them. They also collected footage of classrooms filled with laughter, animated discussions and moments of discovery.

“One of the things we noticed is that once students get into Latin class, they really love it,” Callier says. “You just have to get them in the door.”

The team secured a grant to bring the project to life, which allowed them to hire a former ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� student who majored in film—and took several semesters of Latin with Callier—to professionally edit the videos.

Over the course of a year, the raw footage was transformed into a compelling series of short videos, each emphasizing a unique aspect of the Latin classroom experience.

Now available on YouTube, the You Belong in Latin videos are a vital resource for teachers, students and parents to share.

Latin is for everyone

A central theme of You Belong in Latin is the tight-knit community formed in Latin classrooms. Unlike more popular language programs, Latin classes tend to be small, allowing students to form deeper relationships with their peers and instructors.

“At ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, if you take Latin, aside from the first semester where there are two sections of Latin I, after that, everybody’s in the same class together,” Callier explains. “You continue to see the same instructors in the department as well. So you get to know them, and you get to know your peers in a way that’s not really very common at the college level.”

The same holds true in high schools, where Latin students often stay in one cohort across multiple years and gain a sense of unity and belonging.

The videos also seek to challenge the misconception that Latin is elitist—a subject reserved for Ivy League prep schools and aspiring academics.

“Latin actually isn’t elitist. Everybody’s starting from the same level when they walk into Latin class. There’s no barrier, and everybody can benefit from it in various ways,” Callier says.

And while Latin’s reputation as a “dead language” often turns students away, Callier argues that its benefits are very much alive. Latin gives students a foundation for English vocabulary, enhances their analytical skills and prepares them for careers in law, medicine and the sciences, she says, adding that it also provides direct access to Latin texts, “which is immensely beneficial to anyone who is enthusiastic about Roman literature or history.

“Latin actually isn’t elitist. Everybody’s starting from the same level when they walk into Latin class. There’s no barrier, and everybody can benefit from it in various ways.”

“Learning Latin is like weightlifting for your brain,” she says with a smile.

Keeping the momentum going

Now that the You Belong in Latin videos have been published, Callier is working to spread the word.

“We have been sharing our Colorado Classics Association YouTube channel with educators from around the country who are looking for different ways to promote Latin,” she says.

Feedback on the project has been encouraging for Latin educators who rarely receive recognition for their efforts.

“What we are doing as Latin educators is something that is really having an impact,” Callier says. “Students are getting a lot out of Latin in various ways, and they’re really appreciating what we bring to the table.”

At its heart, this project isn’t just about keeping Latin alive but also celebrating what makes it special. As Callier and her colleagues know, the language is only the beginning. The real magic comes from the people who learn and teach it.

Callier says, “Latin survives because people love it. And as long as we keep sharing that love, it’s not going anywhere.”

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For Reina Callier, learning Latin ‘is like lifting weights for your brain.'

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Two ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scientists win prestigious honor

Clint Talbott — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Two ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scientists win prestigious honor Clint Talbott Thu, 03/27/2025 - 08:00

Ivan Smalyukh and Tom Blumenthal are named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Two University of Colorado Boulder professors have been named 2024 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the group announced today.

Ivan Smalyukh (left) and Tom Blumenthal

Ivan Smalyukh, professor of physics, and Thomas Blumenthal, professor emeritus of molecular, cellular and developmental biology (MCDB), are among the 471 scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals.

This year’s class of fellows “is the embodiment of scientific excellence and service to our communities,” said Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals.

“At a time when the future of the scientific enterprise in the U.S. and around the world is uncertain, their work demonstrates the value of sustained investment in science and engineering.”

“I am pleased to see this well-deserved recognition of Professor Smalyukh and Professor Blumenthal. Their accomplishments highlight the remarkable scientific advances occurring at CU,” said Irene Blair, dean of natural sciences.

Smalyukh’s research encompasses different branches of soft-condensed-matter and optical physics, including chiral phenomena, knot theory, laser trapping and imaging techniques, molecular and colloidal self-assembly, fundamental properties of liquid crystals, polymers, organic and nano photovoltaics, nano-structured and other functional materials, as well as their photonic and electro-optic applications.

“We aspire to uncover very fundamental physical principles underpinning phenomena and properties of materials and other physical systems,” Smalyukh noted. “At the same time, we also apply this fundamental knowledge to contribute to a sustainable future via designing artificial forms of meta matter needed to reduce the growing energy demand and slow down climate change.”

Smalyukh earned BS and MS degrees with highest honors in 1994 and 1995 from Lviv Polytechnic National University in Ukraine. He earned a PhD in chemical physics in 2003 from Kent State University in Ohio.

He joined the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty in 2007. In addition to serving as a professor of physics, he holds a courtesy appointment as a professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, is a fellow in the Materials Science Engineering Program and is a fellow of the Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), a joint institute of NREL and ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

Among other awards, Smalyukh has been named a fellow of the American Physical Society and has won the Department of Energy Early Career Research Award and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

Smalyukh said he is honored by the selection: “I am especially grateful to many students and postdocs doing interdisciplinary physics-centered research together with me over nearly 20 years at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.”

Blumenthal’s lab has studied a variety of important problems in molecular biology, including regulation of gene expression, mechanisms of RNA splicing and arrangement of genes on chromosomes. His lab is responsible for discovering that eukaryotes can have operons for identifying the protein that is responsible for recognizing the 3’ splice site and for a variety of other esoteric findings.

He has also studied how the tiny extra chromosome responsible for Down syndrome changes the levels of many proteins, even though most of those proteins are not encoded on the extra chromosome.

Blumenthal earned a BA in biology from Antioch College in 1966 and a PhD in genetics from Johns Hopkins University in 1970. He did postdoctoral research at Harvard University from 1970-73, then spent 23 years at the Biology Department at Indiana University Bloomington and nine years at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He joined ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� faculty in 2006 and served as professor and chair of MCDB.

Among other awards, Blumenthal was recognized as a fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2010 and won a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1980.

Lee Niswander, professor and chair of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, said the department is thrilled about Blumenthal’s recognition. “Tom’s research program related to RNA processing and gene regulation, as well as his strong leadership of MCDB, have left an enduring mark on science and MCDB.

“Tom continues to engage with astute questions and the endowment of a lecture series related to RNA biology through a partnership between ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and CU Anschutz.”

Counting Blumenthal and Smalyukh, 81 ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� professors have been named AAAS fellows since 1981.

Ivan Smalyukh and Tom Blumenthal are named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Who has the influence to curb gender bias in STEM?

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:30:00 +0000

Who has the influence to curb gender bias in STEM? Rachel Sauer Tue, 03/25/2025 - 07:30

Cody DeBos

Hint: It’s not women

When Charlotte Moser started graduate school, she was the only woman in a shared office with four male students. One day, a classmate casually remarked that he wished she weren’t there so the office could be all men.

Moser barely had time to process the sting of the exclusion before another male student cut in, calling out the remark as gender bias.

“It felt so great to have someone stand up for me,” Moser recalls. “I felt like someone had my back and I belonged in this space.”

Charlotte Moser, a research associate in ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, studies how allyship in male-dominated fields influences workplace culture.

That moment stayed with her—not just because of the personal validation, but because it led her to begin exploring a larger pattern in workplace dynamics.

Now as a research associate in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Moser studies how allyship in male-dominated fields influences workplace culture. Her findings reveal an unsettling but potentially useful truth: When men openly advocate for gender equality, their voices often carry more weight than women’s do.

The reason? Not necessarily gender, Moser says, but power and influence.

The social influence gap

Moser’s research suggests that in STEM workplaces, where men hold most leadership positions, male allies are perceived as more persuasive, more legitimate and more effective at creating a culture that supports gender equality than their female counterparts.

“We find that men who advocate for gender equality and act as allies tend to be better at signaling to women that they will belong and be respected in male-dominated STEM contexts than when women advocate for gender equality,” Moser says.

Her findings suggest that allyship in male-dominated workplaces isn’t just about intent or even gender. Rather, it’s about who is perceived as having the power to create change.

If a female scientist points out that women are often overlooked for leadership roles or promotions, she may be met with skepticism or dismissed as self-interested. But when a male colleague makes the same argument, research shows that their remark is more likely to be taken seriously and perceived as a norm-setting statement rather than a personal complaint.

“Other work has found that men tend to be perceived more positively than women when advocating for gender equality,” Moser explains. “Women tend to be viewed as whiners, complainers, and only acting in their own self-interest.”

The cost of exclusion

Gender bias in the workplace isn’t a theoretical issue. It has real repercussions.

Car-crash dummies designed to represent women’s bodies weren’t introduced until 2011. Even today, they are tested only in the passenger seat, not the driver’s seat. (Photo: Lin Pan/Wikimedia Commons)

“A huge consequence is the loss of the contributions from many brilliant women scientists,” Moser says.

Research shows that women are less likely to be retained in male-dominated fields due to factors like persistent bias, exclusion and a lack of support. With fewer women present to offer their perspective, blind spots emerge, and those gaps can have serious, even deadly, implications.

One striking example is the case of crash-test dummies.

“For decades, car-crash dummies were built to represent the average body of a man,” Moser says. “This led women to be much more likely to fall victim to serious injury and death in car crashes.”

Shockingly, car-crash dummies designed to represent women’s bodies weren’t introduced until 2011. Even today, they are tested only in the passenger seat, not the driver’s seat. Recent statistics show that women are 17% more likely to be killed in a car accident and 73% more likely to be seriously injured than male occupants.

This oversight isn’t an accident, but the denouement of decades of scientific decision-making that lacked diverse perspectives.

“More inclusive science is better for everyone—not just those who face bias,” Moser says.

Going beyond performative allyship

If allyship from men is perceived as more effective, what should they do to ensure their support is genuine and impactful?

Moser has a few recommendations.

“I would say that men who don’t know where to start could start within their own spheres. Pay attention to what’s going on, how people are treated, and listen to the women around you,” she says.

But listening is only the first step.

Moser emphasizes that standing up against gender bias isn’t just about making statements on social media or in private. Meaningful allyship requires action.

Calling out dismissive remarks in a team meeting or challenging biased hiring decisions can have an immediate effect. Those in leadership positions can stretch their influence further by advocating for equitable organizational policies and ensuring women have access to mentorship and career-advancement opportunities.

“One hurdle for men regarding allyship for gender equality is that they feel that it is ‘not their place,’” Moser says. “I hope that my work can show that allyship from men is not only wanted but very beneficial to women.”

However, Moser warns that inauthentic allyship—publicly claiming to support gender equality without backing it up—can make meaningful change even harder to achieve.

“The future of allyship isn’t just about who speaks. It’s about who gets listened to.”

“I have other work showing that it is worse to claim allyship but then do nothing to promote equality than if one had said nothing about inequality and allyship in the first place,” she says.

Who deserves to be heard?

Moser’s research makes clear the fact that eliminating gender bias in the workplace isn’t a matter of men versus women. Rather, it’s about recognizing and altering the systems that create credibility and influence.

“I think allyship can change the narrative of the widespread belief that most men don’t care about women and change the narrative that it’s women’s responsibility to make these workplaces work for them,” she says.

But the goal isn’t just getting men to use their influence—it’s about redistributing power so that women’s voices carry the same weight without needing male validation.

“The future of allyship isn’t just about who speaks,” Moser explains. “It’s about who gets listened to.”

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Hint: It’s not women.

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Discovering Boulder County’s tiniest residents

Rachel Sauer — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 17:10:47 +0000

Discovering Boulder County’s tiniest residents Rachel Sauer Mon, 03/24/2025 - 11:10

Collette Mace

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� alum and experienced caver Dave Steinmann recently discovered a new species of pseudoscorpion in Mallory Cave, with a moniker honoring its namesake hometown

When Dave Steinmann (Phys’90) first started classes at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1984, he had never explored a cave before and never really thought much about caves. However, when his new dorm-mate suggested they try his dad’s favorite hobby of caving, what seemed at first like an adventurous new pastime soon turned into a lifestyle for Steinmann—one that he has continued for more than 30 years and leading to his discovery of almost 100 new cave-dwelling species.

Steinmann, now a research associate with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Zoology Department, most recently discovered a new species of pseudoscorpion named after the city closest to where it was found—none other than CU’s hometown of Boulder. Steinmann said that he knew almost immediately that the critter that is now known as Larca boulderica was a new species.

Dave Steinmann (right) with his son, Nathan (left), and wife, Debbie (center), as they get ready to go caving. (Photo: Dave Steinmann)

When he first spotted it in Mallory Cave, one of Boulder’s most well-known cave systems thanks to its role in bat conservation, he immediately noticed its unique, almost lentil-shaped body and adaptations for cave living, such as its pale color. These specimens were later verified as a new species by Mark Harvey, a pseudoscorpion expert at the Western Australian Museum; Harvey and Steinmann recently published details of the discovery in ZooKeys.

Steinmann notes that it’s typically not difficult to discern when a specimen is a new species, as it happens pretty frequently in the ancient cave systems right below our feet.

“I always say that if I want to discover a new species, I just need to visit a new cave,” he says.

Why are caves such a great place to make new discoveries? The answer lies in their role as a sort of refuge from climate change, Steinmann notes. In caves, insects can hide from the effects of temperature, floral and faunal changes that happen more rapidly in the outside world, facilitating isolated evolutionary changes.

Changing cave life

However, even cave life is changing. Lately, the temperature inside of caves, typically very cold, has been observed to be rising on a minuscule scale. Although this may seem trivial, even a few degrees’ difference can have immeasurable effects on the delicate life structures within the caves.

Similarly, outside temperatures affect which species go in and out of the cave systems, most notably bats. With the recent spike in white-nosed syndrome in bat populations, the number of bats in cave systems has decreased dramatically, with disastrous effects on internal cave species such as Larca boulderica, who survive on organic material—most often wood brought into the cave—and guano (bat fecal matter).

These changes are slow to progress, though, and there is still time to save cave ecosystems like that of Mallory Cave, which is closed to the public to protect the bat population inside (although it’s still possible to hike up to the cave entrance, a pleasant and short hike for anyone hoping to get outside).

So, how did Steinmann spot these teeny tiny bugs who live on bat feces? Well, after more than 30 years of experience, he has some tricks up his sleeve. One of the easiest methods he uses to spot tiny critters is simply by turning over rocks or pieces of wood.

When species like pseudoscorpions are disturbed by the movement or sense the carbon dioxide released by human breathing, they tend to skitter in every direction, looking for a new spot to curl up and revel in the damp darkness. When they move around, according to Steinmann, it’s just a game of whether you can catch them quickly enough.

The newly described pseudoscorpion Larca boulderica is about the size of a sesame seed and is only known to live in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo: Dave Steinmann)

To catch samples, Steinmann usually brings simple tools along with him—a painter’s brush and some rubbing alcohol. When the brush is wetted with the alcohol, it’s easy to run it along a surface and pick up all of the tiny things residing there, including minuscule species of bugs like Larca boulderica.

From there, it’s also easier to see what he’s found, as cave species are usually albino due to the lack of melanin— they don’t need pigmentation when there’s no sunlight—and they stand out against the dark ground and hairs of the paintbrush.

Looking for a gold bug

Despite being at it for multiple decades, Steinmann has no plans to slow down his caving career any time soon. He’s even made it a family pastime, and often spends time caving with his wife, Debbie, and his son, Nathan. He keeps an ongoing list of caves he plans to visit in the future and looks forward to making even more discoveries.

“I’d really like to find some kind of gold-colored bug and name it after the university,” he says, “or maybe even Coach Prime!”

He’s also enthusiastic about getting more students involved in caving, including caver and photographer Andres “Andy” Better, who will be a CU transfer student next fall. Steinmann emphasized how many different opportunities lie in the caving experience and says students of any background could find a niche interest in the hobby.

He also mentions local groups and clubs for both new and experienced cavers, including the Front Range Grotto and the Colorado Grotto, which meets at the Colorado School of Mines. He says that while anyone is welcome in caving, experienced members of the clubs can sometimes be protective of the places they visit, as human disturbances can harm delicate cave ecosystems, and caving as a hobby can be dangerous in a lot of ways.

However, if you’re looking to learn about caving with curiosity and respect, any of these clubs are great ways to get involved in this adventurous and exciting hobby—just be careful not to step in the bat guano because there could be a new species in there!

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� alum and experienced caver Dave Steinmann recently discovered a new species of pseudoscorpion in Mallory Cave, with a moniker honoring its namesake hometown.

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Patty Limerick and George Orwell merge to celebrate anniversaries

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:17:07 +0000

Patty Limerick and George Orwell merge to celebrate anniversaries Rachel Sauer Tue, 03/18/2025 - 09:17

Daniel Long

The historian loaned her voice to the author in the summer of 2024 to commemorate her 40th year in Boulder and the 75th anniversary of 1984

It was a hot summer evening in June of 2024, in a barn on the east side of Boulder, Colorado. On a low stage blanketed with a small, thin rug, two empty chairs sat facing each other, and between them, tall and menacing against the black backdrop, stood a red banner with “1984” written on it.

A large gray eye gazed out upon the audience from the center of that banner, lidless and all-seeing, an icon of surveillance.

Big Brother, it seemed, was watching, and he likely disapproved of what he saw.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Professor Patty Limerick embodied 1984 author George Orwell in several public conversation, guided by the belief that “historians are people who try to reactivate the voices of the departed.”

His creator and harshest critic, George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair), had returned from the dead to discuss his life and work nearly 75 years after succumbing to tuberculosis at the age of 46 on Jan. 21, 1950, seven months following the publication of his most famous novel, 1984, the nightmare-vision that gave the world Room 101, memory holes, Newspeak and doublethink.

It would be the first of two public conversations he’d have over the summer, this one with TV show host Aaron Harber and the second with scholar, author and educator Clay Jenkinson.

Harber took the stage and faced the humble gathering of spectators. “I would like to introduce to you George Orwell,” he said.

Applause mounted in the sweltering barn as the author of Animal Farm, Road to Wigan Pier and numerous essays ambled down the aisle dividing the crowd and stepped up to meet Harber, dressed sharply but unseasonably in a jacket, trousers, tie and hat . . .

. . . and bearing a remarkable resemblance to University of Colorado Boulder history professor Patty Limerick.

Why channel Orwell?

“Tragedy . . . belonged to the ancient time, to a time when there was still privacy, love, and friendship, and when the members of a family stood by one another without needing to know the reason.”
—George Orwell, 1984

The year 2024 marked Limerick’s 40th in Boulder, which is another way of saying she moved there in 1984. She wanted to celebrate, but how?

“Then I thought, ‘Yes, 1984—when was that published?’ I thought I knew, but I didn't. And when I checked, it was the 75th anniversary.”

This convergence of round numbers gave Limerick an idea: Maybe she could observe both anniversaries together, with the same event, as only a historian would.

Her initial thought was to ask her friend Jenkinson to don Orwell’s persona while she interviewed him. Having impersonated many historical figures—Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and J. Robert Oppenheimer, among others—for a variety of audiences, including Supreme Court justices and U.S. Congress, he seemed the natural choice.

But Jenkinson didn’t have sufficient time to prepare for the role, which left Limerick wondering: Could she do the impersonation herself?

She’d impersonated President Richard Nixon in her American History survey course several years prior, thinking this would prove more engaging than her usual lecture on the man. “The lecture on Richard Nixon was so useless because I, as a person of my age group, have a lot of feelings about Nixon,” Limerick says. “The lecture would be quite interesting if you were curious about my feelings about Nixon, but if you thought you might want to learn about Richard Nixon, you came to the wrong place.”

Even without the standard accoutrements—makeup, clothing, five o’clock shadow—Limerick’s impersonation of the 37th president did the trick, she says. Her students asked thoughtful questions, and she got the chance to put some flesh and sinew on the bones of her Nixonian knowledge.

“I certainly conveyed some moments in which Nixon was insufferably full of questionable convictions, but I also . . . conveyed his accomplishments,” such as “the lessening of tensions with China and the signing of crucial environmental laws,” she recalls. “I feel I got it right.”

So, why not impersonate Orwell? Why not lend him her voice as she had Nixon?

Why not indeed. After all, Limerick says, “historians are people who try to reactivate the voices of the departed.”

Guaranteed tyranny

“Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.”
—George Orwell, 1984

One of 1984’s most famous innovations is Newspeak, a language Orwell constructed to represent the nation-state of Oceania’s drive to control not just its citizens’ behavior but also what went on in their heads.

Patty Limerick (left), a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� historian, embodied George Orwell during a televised conversation with Aaron Harber. (Screen grab: PBS)

“The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of Ingsoc (English socialism), but to make all other modes of thought impossible,” Orwell says in his appendix to 1984, “The Principles of Newspeak.”

“It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought—that is, a thought diverging from the principles of Ingsoc—should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words.”

“Newspeak,” says Limerick, “is the foundation of guaranteed tyranny. You don’t let people have the words that they need. What became of justice? What became of freedom? What became of honor? They can’t ask those questions if they don’t have those words. People can’t resist if they don’t have the word ‘resist.’”

Orwell held strong views about the relationship between word and thought. He famously criticized nebulous prose in his essay “Politics and the English Language” by arguing that fuzzy writing both emerges from and leads to fuzzy thinking.

Decades later, not fully realizing her indebtedness to Orwell, Limerick made a similar case in her essay “Dancing with Professors,” though she approached the issue from an educational rather than a political angle. Yet both agreed that the stakes of clarity are high: freedom of thought for Orwell, the legitimacy and survival of academia for Limerick.

But what about some of the words that appear in the media these days—words like “mistruths” in place of “lies”? Would Orwell consider these examples of Newspeak?

Not necessarily, Limerick argues. For one thing, these words, wooly as they may be, add to the English language, creating new shades of meaning, while Newspeak feeds on subtraction.

“Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?” the Newspeak enthusiast Syme asks of 1984’s protagonist, Winston Smith. “Every year fewer and fewer words, and the range of consciousness always a little smaller.”

For another thing, a word like “mistruth,” says Limerick, is often used not by the powerful to maintain their power but by media outlets that are trying to report on falsehoods without using incendiary words like “lie” or “liar.”

“If you're going to call the leader of the United States a liar repeatedly, and his supporters are not gentle and forgiving people, you’re going to spend much of your conscious life wondering how you’re going to cope with the consequences of your having said he’s lying.”

Newspeak does not deal in such subtleties, Limerick believes. Newspeak is where subtlety goes to die.

Two plus two equals five

“You are a slow learner, Winston,” said O’Brien gently.
“How can I help it?” (Winston) blubbered. “How can I help seeing what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four.”
“Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”
—George Orwell, 1984

Another of Orwell’s stickier inventions in 1984 is doublethink, or the capacity to believe two logically opposed things at once—things like war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength.

“Doublethink is the power of tyrants to say contradictory things and not be held responsible for the disparities,” Limerick explains. “It is really bad, and really dangerous, and really perilous.”

Winston discovers how perilous when he’s interrogated by O’Brien, a character he assumes is a friend but who turns out to be a member of the Thought Police tasked with rooting out thought-criminals. After learning of Winston’s secret opposition to Ingsoc, O’Brien tortures him relentlessly to convert him back into doublethink, arguing that it “is impossible to see reality except by looking through the eyes of the Party.”

Yet Limerick points out that it is important not to mistake the direct contradictions of doublethink in 1984 with the paradoxes of real life.

Take historical figures, for example. The more one learns about them, says Limerick, the more complex they become, to the point that they may force students of history to hold seemingly contradictory thoughts when appraising them.

This happened to Limerick herself with William Stewart, senator of Nevada from 1865-75.

“Environmental activists and historians hold Stewart in contempt because he was the guy who wrote the 1872 mining law, which enshrines the notion that individuals can just go out and make mining claims and owe nothing in the way of revenue to the government,” she says.

Yet Stewart also proved crucial to getting the Fifteenth Amendment passed in 1870, which granted African American men the right to vote—an accomplishment Limerick urges everyone to admire.

Evidence sometimes demands conflicting feelings, Limerick says. Villains can do heroic things, and heroes can do villainous things, including Orwell. The great champion of free thought also expressed complicated, often inconsistent views about women, Jews and Catholicism. He wasn’t perfect, and any estimation that claimed he was would be flat. Posterity can both praise and blame him simultaneously—paradoxical, but true.

But that doesn’t mean two plus two will ever equal five.

Orwell’s lingering relevance

“We are the dead. Our only true life is in the future. We shall take part in it as handfuls of dust and splinters of bone. But how far away that future may be, there is no knowing.”
—George Orwell, 1984

The conversation between Jenkinson and Limerick’s Orwell, organized by the Vail Symposium, took place on Aug. 21, 2024, at the Donovan Pavilion in Vail. That night, the two engaged in an often funny and frequently tetchy back-and-forth about Orwell’s childhood, his views on socialism and his enduring legacy.

“Doublethink is the power of tyrants to say contradictory things and not be held responsible for the disparities. It is really bad, and really dangerous, and really perilous,” argues historian Patty Limerick.

When, about three-quarters of the way through the discussion, Jenkinson revealed he was wearing a 1984 T-shirt, Orwell stared at it, nonplussed, and asked, “My understanding from that shirt is that my name and that book are still recognizable?”

“Universally!” Jenkinson proclaimed. “One of the most recognizable books written in English and certainly one of the most recognizable books of the 20th century. And it has become extremely important again in the last dozen years or so because the world is having a strange flirtation with authoritarianism, and one of the ways that people have coped with this abroad and at home . . . is to go back to your book. And they find solace in it, they find warning in it, they find hope in it, and they find discouragement in it, but it is a key text as people try to sort our way through this extraordinarily difficult time in modern history.”

A long silence followed while Orwell gathered his thoughts.

“I’m having such mixed feelings,” he admitted to Jenkinson. “I hoped that what I wrote about (in 1984) would become mocked, humorous. ‘He thought these terrible things were going to happen. Nothing like that happened! Boy, did he get that wrong!’

“As an author, I am gratified knowing that (1984) went on and on,” he added. “(But) as a human being who welcomed a child (his adopted son Richard Blair) into the world, I’m not anything but shaken to believe that this book is still so relevant.”

Yet Orwell’s distress turned to horror when Jenkinson delivered the worst news of the night: the definition of the word “Orwellian.”

“When we say ‘Orwellian,’” Jenkinson said, “we mean surveillance, torture, discrimination, disappearances, propaganda, lies, permanent war, keeping the class system, keeping down the poor … ‘Orwellian’ is a dystopian word for us meaning a nightmare world.”

Orwell winced at this revelation. “The things I tried to prevent, the things I tried to warn people about, they associate with me?” he railed. “Change that word!”

Jenkinson held out his hands, welcoming Orwell’s ideas. “What would you prefer?”

Orwell offered two alternative definitions: one about intellectual openness and diversity, the other about the necessity of precise language.

But a third definition, one governed not by foreboding or criticism but by a zeal for life and all it contained, can be culled from the beginning of Orwell and Jenkinson’s talk.

“If you think . . . that I wrote 1984 when I knew I was dying, and knew that this would be my last book, and that the grimness of this book comes from the melancholy and despair of a dying man, you have that wrong,” Orwell said. “I lived with a commitment to being alive that never, never faltered.”

Perhaps the only thing comparable to Orwell’s commitment to being alive is Limerick’s commitment to keeping him alive—or, if not him, at least his memory. He won’t be memory-holed on her watch.

“I hate it so much that he died when he did, just a few months after 1984 came out, and that he was so sick and so frail while he was writing it,” she says. “I wanted to do anything I could to provide people today with an interlude where he was speaking.”

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The historian loaned her voice to the author in the summer of 2024 to commemorate her 40th year in Boulder and the 75th anniversary of '1984.'

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Top illustration: Márton Kapoli

An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:18:01 +0000

An ultrafast microscope makes movies one femtosecond at a time Rachel Sauer Tue, 03/11/2025 - 10:18

New ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� research harnesses the power of an ultrafast microscope to study molecular movement in space and time

The interactions in photovoltaic materials that convert light into electricity happens in femtoseconds. How fast is that? One femtosecond is a quadrillionth of a second. To put that in perspective, the difference between a second and a femtosecond is comparable to the difference between the second right now and 32 million years ago.

Subatomic particles like electrons move within atoms, and atoms move within molecules, in femtoseconds. This speed has long presented challenges for researchers working to make more efficient, cost-effective and sustainable photovoltaic materials, including solar cells. Imaging materials on the nanoscale with high enough spatial resolution to uncover the fundamental physical processes poses an additional challenge.

Understanding how, where and when electrons move, and how their movement depends on the molecular structure of these materials, is key to honing them or developing better ones.

Ultrafast nano-imaging of structure and dynamics in a perovskite quantum material also used for photovoltaic applications. Different femtosecond laser pulses are used to excite and measure the material. They are focused to the nanoscale with an ultrasharp metallic tip. The photo-excited electrons and coupled changes of the lattice structure (so called polarons, red ellipses) are diagnosed spectroscopically with simultaneous ultrahigh spatial and temporal resolution. (Illustration: Branden Esses)

Building on more than five years of research developing a unique ultrafast microscope that can make real-time “movies” of electron and molecular motion in materials, a team of University of Colorado Boulder scientists published in Science Advances the results of significant innovations in ultrafast nanoimaging, visualizing matter at its elementary atomic and molecular level.

The research team, led by Markus Raschke, professor of physics and JILA fellow, applied the ultrafast nanoimaging techniques they developed to novel perovskite materials. Perovskites are a family of organic-inorganic hybrid materials that are efficient at converting light to electricity, generally stable and relatively easy to make.

Working with a thin perovskite layer, the researchers directed ultrashort laser pulses onto tiny metallic tips positioned above the perovskite layer. The tip functions like an antenna for the laser light and focuses it to a spot much smaller than what is possible in conventional microscopes. The tip is then scanned across the perovskite layer, creating an image pixel by pixel. Each image provides one frame of a movie as the different laser pulses are varied in time.

The movie also has “color,” albeit in the infrared and invisible to the human eye but where the molecules and electrons respond. Through different wavelengths of light, the researchers can follow both the electron and molecular motion and their coupling, which is what controls the photovoltaic efficiency in perovskites.

This milestone not only helps them better understand the missing links between the perovskite’s crystal structure and composition and its performance as a photovoltaic material but also led to the surprising discovery that more disorder seems to facilitate better photovoltaic performance.

“We like to say that we’re making ultrafast movies,” Raschke says, adding that there have long been many unknowns about the elementary processes after sunlight gets absorbed in photovoltaic materials and how the excited electrons move in them without being dispersed, but “for the first time, we can actually sort this out because we can record spatial, temporal and spectral dimensions simultaneously in this microscope.”

Molecules as spectators of how the electrons move

In recent years, much research has focused on perovskites, particularly in the quest to create more efficient and sustainable solar cells. These materials absorb certain colors of the visible spectrum of sunlight effectively and can be layered with other materials, such as silicon, that catch additional wavelengths of light the perovskite does not absorb.

"This is a way to examine the material properties on a very elementary level, so that in the future we’ll be able to design materials with certain properties in a more directed way."

“(Perovskites) are easy to fabricate and have a very high solar cell efficiency, and can be applied as a very thin film,” explains Roland Wilcken, first author on the new paper and a post-doctoral researcher in Raschke’s research group. “But the problem with this material is it has relatively low photostability.”

Improving the material’s performance is no easy feat. There’s a large possible combination of chemical compositions and preparation conditions of perovskite solar cells, which affect their structure, performance and stability in ways that are difficult to predict. This is a challenge also faced by many other complex materials used for semiconductors, quantum materials, displays or in biomedical applications.

This is where the ultrafast microscope helps the researchers gain the spatial and temporal information needed to optimize the material—and in turn—find a good compromise between stability and performance.

Building the ultrafast microscope was a challenge, explained Branden Esses, a physics graduate student and research contributor. The team used nanotips, coated in a platinum alloy or gold, which are brought within nanometers of the perovskite layer, then hit with a sequence of laser pulses.

The first pulse excites the electrons in the visible, and subsequent pulses in the infrared watch how the electrons and molecules interact and move in time, Esses says, adding that “if you shine a light on this very tiny tip, the light that comes back is very weak since it only interacts with very few electrons or molecules; it’s so weak that you need special techniques to detect it.”

So, they developed a special method, modulating the light beams and using optical-amplification techniques to reduce noise and background to isolate the desired information.

Both how “the light is focused at the nanometer scale with the tips and how it is emitted and detected was essential to get enough contrast and signal to make these ultrafast movies of the material,” Wilcken explains.

And thanks to the ultrafast microscope technology, researchers are able to capture ultra-high-resolution images of femtosecond movement, measuring atomic motion in the molecules with very high precision. A particular feature of this development is the ability to resolve the dynamics of the molecular vibrations as a spectator of how the material responds to the photoexcited electrons.

Building better and functional materials from the bottom up

“This is a way to examine the material properties on a very elementary level, so that in the future we’ll be able to design materials with certain properties in a more directed way,” explains Sean Shaheen, a professor of electrical, computer and energy engineering who provided the material sample and collaborated on the research.

“We’re able to say, ‘We know we prefer this kind of structure, which results in, for example, longer lived electronic excitations as linked to photovoltaic performance,’ and then we’re able to inform our material synthesis partners to help make them,” Esses adds.

One of the surprising results of the work is that “in contrast to conventional semiconductors it seems that more structural disorder gives rise to more stable photogenerated electrons in hybrid perovskites,” Raschke explains. With the ultrafast microscope it became possible for the first time “to directly image the role of molecular order, disorder and local crystallinity on the optical and electronic properties of materials in general.”

This discovery is expected to have a profound impact on material science for advancing the performance of novel semiconductor and quantum materials for computing, energy and medical applications.

The instrument development was supported by the National Science Foundation, through STROBE, an NSF Science and Technology Center for which Raschke serves as co-principal investigator.

Roland Wilcken, Branden Esses, Rachith Nithyananda Kumar, Luaren Hurley, Sean Shaheen and Markus Raschke contributed to this research.

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New ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� research harnesses the power of an ultrafast microscope to study molecular movement in space and time.

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‘My role is to remind you that we are all humans’

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 14:37:12 +0000

‘My role is to remind you that we are all humans’ Rachel Sauer Tue, 03/11/2025 - 08:37

Collette Mace

In a community discussion March 4, Buffs One Read author Javier Zamora shared his immigration story, emphasizing the importance of representation

El Cadejo is a spirit figure in Central American folklore that takes the shape of a dog and can either help or harm travelers depending on whether their Cadejo is good or bad.

Salvadoran author and poet Javier Zamora sees his Cadejo as an embodiment of his ancestors, protecting and sheltering him through his arduous childhood immigration journey. He credits those who came before him with his survival against the odds.

Zamora shared this and other perspectives March 4 during the CU Buffs One Read author discussion. This academic year, the program chose Zamora’s memoir, Solito, as its Common Read selection.

Javier Zamora (left, with microphone) discussed his memoir, Solito, during a community event March 4 for the Buffs One Read program. (Photo: Collette Mace)

Solito details Zamora’s experience as a child immigrating from El Salvador to the United States, a journey that took him over land and sea, through dense urban settings and desolate deserts. In the memoir, he tells the story of his journey through his 9-year-old self’s eyes—a story that encapsulates the themes of courage that the Buffs One Read program aimed to highlight.

Zamora began the program by answering a few questions about his first book of poems, Unaccompanied, published in 2017. Addressing the book’s tone of urgency, Zamora noted that the purpose of this book was mainly to answer the question, “Why am I here?” Written right before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he said he knew immigration was heavy on the minds of the nation, and he felt it was urgent to tell his story about migration, as well as his parents’ stories.

His family, part of the 2% of Salvadoran immigrants granted refugee status by the U.S. government, didn’t discuss with Zamora why they left El Salvador until he was much older. He recalled learning about his country through the ominous, ever-present headlines about the violence and cartel wars raging there.

The images of Salvadoran migrants were mostly “unaccompanied minors,” something Zamora both identified with and rebelled against, knowing that there was more to the migrants’ stories than what was being shown on the news.

This was partially why Solito had such a heavy change in tone, he said. He wanted to show the journey the way he experienced it as a boy—exploring the confusion, half-truths and even pockets of joy that he experienced on the journey. This was something that he only felt capable of doing after he had been employed at Harvard as a fellow, he said.

“Time is a privilege,” he said, adding that he recognized that the benefits his higher education, and thus employment, gave him the ability to process his childhood trauma enough to write his memoir well and authentically.

He credits therapy with his success in this and remarked that therapy is a lifelong journey from which everyone could benefit. Through his therapy, Zamora said he was able to explore his feelings about the “unaccompanied minor” stereotype associated with Salvadoran migration—imagery that was widely circulated around the United States in the early 2000s of El Salvadoran parents sending their children across the border unaccompanied, which furthered racism and anti-immigration rhetoric by painting Salvadoran parents as irresponsible. He questioned where he fit into that narrative and how to reckon with the overwhelming sense of survivor’s guilt that he still feels to this day.

His way of coping with the questions “Why me? Why did I survive when so many did not?” is through traditional Salvadoran folklore, which he mentions frequently in the memoir in the form of the spirit El Cadejo.

Feeling safe

Zamora also discussed his experience after migrating to the United States, specifically in schools. He said that he experienced bullying even in his predominantly immigrant community and oftentimes used “assimilation as a coping mechanism.” He tried to turn himself into an “American-born Salvadoran” to fit in, he said, by doing things like only speaking English and not having a strong attachment to El Salvador, and didn’t fully embrace his identity as an immigrant until much later in life, after years of therapy.

"Everyone should be allowed to exist as humans. Not just the children and not just the ‘good students,’ but everyone. My role is to remind you that we are all humans."

It wasn’t until late high school that he even considered writing poetry, he said. He recalled how looking up “Salvadoran poets” and seeing that representation was the catalyst for his interest in writing: “All of the sudden,” he said, “writing was something I could do, if I wanted to.”

He said that one of the most important discoveries he made within Salvadoran poetry was the coexistence of Spanish and English on the page, a reflection of how his parents and grandparents spoke, as well as English and academic language. “Representation fuscking matters,” he said.

One theme that Zamora strongly emphasized was the importance of teachers in the American school system, who make young immigrants feel a little bit safer. He mentioned how important it is for teachers to signal to students that they are safe. Even something as simple as speaking to him in Spanish was enough to signal to a young Zamora that his teachers were trustworthy; even if he chose not to talk with them about his trauma and experiences, he knew that he could, and that was what was important, he said.

Especially in a time where immigrants and children of immigrants may feel unsafe in school settings, he added, signaling to students that their teachers are there for them and that they are all on the same team is critical in making sure that children feel supported in the education system.

Explaining what he wanted people to take away from the Buffs One Read discussion, and from Solito as a whole, Zamora said, “Everyone should be allowed to exist as humans. Not just the children and not just the ‘good students,’ but everyone. My role is to remind you that we are all humans.”

He said he wanted the audience Tuesday to leave the conversation with the knowledge that borders and citizenship are new concepts and that being human is what binds us together: “We need to remember the past as actively as we are trying to erase it.”

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In a community discussion March 4, Buffs One Read author Javier Zamora shared his immigration story, emphasizing the importance of representation.

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‘Kenough’: Is 'Barbie' more revolutionary for men than women?

Rachel Sauer — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 21:08:55 +0000

‘Kenough’: Is 'Barbie' more revolutionary for men than women? Rachel Sauer Fri, 03/07/2025 - 14:08

Clay Bonnyman Evans

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� PhD student’s paper argues that the hit film exemplifies ‘masculinity without patriarchy’ in media

M.G. Lord, author of Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll and co-host of the podcast LA Made: The Barbie Tapes, describes Greta Gerwig’s Oscar Award-winning, box-office behemoth Barbie as “incredibly feminist” and widely perceived as “anti-male.”

Meanwhile, conservative critics rail that the movie is “anti-man” and full of “beta males” in need of a testosterone booster. Conservative British commentator Piers Morgan called it “an assault on not just Ken, but on all men.”

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� PhD student Julie Estlick argues that Greta Gerwig's award-winning film Barbie is "a really good film for Ken."

But University of Colorado Boulder women and gender studies doctoral student Julie Estlick sees things differently. In her recent paper, “Ken’s Best Friend: Masculinities in Barbie,” published in Feminist Theory, she argues that the movie is “a really good film for Ken.”

On first viewing, Estlick noticed a woman nearby having a “very visceral, emotional response” to the now iconic monolog by actor America Ferrera, which begins, “It is literally impossible to be a woman.”

She wasn’t particularly moved by the speech, and walking out of the theater, she realized she didn’t see the movie as a clear-cut icon of feminism.

“I really questioned whether the film was actually about Barbie, and by extension, women, at least in the way people were claiming,” she says.

Once Barbie was available for streaming, Estlick took a closer look and arrived at a heterodox conclusion:

“Barbie is not anti-man; it is pro-man and is not necessarily a revolutionary film for women, at least not as much as it is for men,” she writes in the paper’s abstract. “This is because Barbie espouses non-hegemonic masculinity through cultural critiques that are rare to see in popular media.”

Hegemonic vs. toxic masculinity

For Estlick, “hegemonic masculinity” is a kind of stand-in for the “toxic masculinity” so often featured in media: superheroes, gangsters, vigilantes, killing machines who are also “lady killers.” Always strong, rarely emotional, such men are absurdly impermeable to harm, and sport chiseled features and perfectly sculpted abs, she says. Yet many are also “man children” whose “ultimate prize” is to have sex with a woman.

“That kind of media comes at the expense of women, works against women, and often oppresses women by sexualizing and objectifying them,” Estlick says.

In the film Barbie, the patriarchy ultimately doesn't serve the Kens any more than it does the Barbies, argues ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� PhD student Julie Estlick. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

Non-hegemonic masculinity is strong without being oppressive, and supportive and protective of women without regard to any quid pro quo. It allows for men to openly express emotions and vulnerability and to seek help for their mental-health struggles and emotional needs without shame, while retaining their strength, vitality and masculinity.

“It does the opposite of hegemonic masculinity,” Estlick says. “It works alongside women and doesn’t harm them in any way.”

The Kens are first represented in the movie as clueless accessories to the ruling Barbies of Barbie Land. But after Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling) and Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) find a portal to our world, Beach Ken returns and establishes a patriarchal society in which women become mindless accessories to hyper-competitive men in the thrall of hegemonic masculinity.

But ultimately, the patriarchy doesn’t serve the Kens any more than the Barbies.

“As people always say, men’s worst enemy under patriarchy isn’t women. It’s other men and their expectations, who are constantly stuffing men into boxes,” Estlick says.

Which isn’t to say that women don’t also enforce strictures of hegemonic masculinity.

“When little boys are taught to suppress emotions, little girls are watching. They are watching their fathers, and fathers onscreen, acting in certain ways,” Estlick says. “Girls internalize toxic ideologies the same ways boys do.”

Allan the exception

In Barbie, there is just one male who stands apart from Kendom: Allan, played by Michael Cera.

“Allan is positioned as queer in the film in that he is othered but not less masculine in the traditional understanding of the word,” Estlick writes. He “deviates from the conventional canon of masculinity” and “uses his masculinity for feminism and to liberate women while also protesting patriarchy.”

Allan doesn’t fit into Kendom, with or without patriarchy. As the narrator (voiced by Helen Mirren) notes, “There are no multiples of Allan; he’s just Allan.”

The character is based on a discontinued Mattel doll released in 1964, intended to be a friend to Ken. Fearing the friendship might be perceived as gay, the company swiftly removed Allan from store shelves, later replacing him with a “family pack” featuring Barbie’s best friend Midge as his wife, and a backstory that the couple had twins.

In the film, non-toxic Allan is immune to patriarchal brainwashing and sides with the Barbies in re-taking Barbie Land.

“(T)he film can be understood as a vital framework for masculinity that allows for vulnerability, emotion and heterosexual intimacy among men,” says researcher Julie Estlick. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Right off the bat we see (Allan) as queered from the rest of the Kens and Barbies,” Estlick says.

But Beach Ken, too, eventually senses that he’s not happy in the patriarchal society has created. In one of the movie’s final scenes, a tearfully confused Beach Ken converses with Stereotypical Barbie from a literal ledge:

“You have to figure out who you are without me,” Barbie tells him kindly. “You’re not your girlfriend. You’re not your house, you’re not your mink … You’re not even beach. Maybe all the things that you thought made you aren’t … really you. Maybe it’s Barbie and … it’s Ken.”

In other words, Barbie is rooting for Ken to claim his individuality.

“Beach Ken’s house, clothes, job and girlfriend all represent boxes that society expects men to tick, but this scene illustrates that it is okay to deviate from normative behaviors of masculinity and that manhood is not solely defined through heteronormative bonds and behaviors,” Estlick writes. And “it is acceptable for men to admit to a woman that they need help.”

Barbie is pure, candy-colored fantasy. But in our world, Estlick believes it points the way toward further non-toxic media representations of masculinity and ultimately contribute to better mental health for men trapped in a “man box” — as well as women who have borne the burden of men’s self- and societally imposed strictures on their own humanity.

“(T)he film can be understood as a vital framework for masculinity that allows for vulnerability, emotion and heterosexual intimacy among men,” she concludes. It “(opens) the door to the creation of more media that subverts societal expectations of toxic masculinity.”

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� PhD student’s paper argues that the hit film exemplifies ‘masculinity without patriarchy’ in media.

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Top image: Warner Bros. Pictures

Storytelling, not statistics, can make STEM more inclusive

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 22:57:54 +0000

Storytelling, not statistics, can make STEM more inclusive Rachel Sauer Tue, 03/04/2025 - 15:57

Cody DeBos

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researcher Eva Pietri studies how stories can help address gender bias and create inclusivity

Eva Pietri wasn’t planning on being part of a documentary.

When the University of Colorado Boulder associate professor of psychology and neuroscience was contacted by the creators of Picture a Scientist, a film that takes an unflinching look at sexism and discrimination in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), she was thrilled to discuss her research. Pietri, who has an extensive background studying gender bias in STEM, knows interventions often fail because facts alone rarely change minds.

But when paired with human narratives, they become undeniable.

“I think one danger with anything that talks about bias is that it might dishearten people. But storytelling, when done right, can motivate people to do something about it," says Eva Pietri, a ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� associate professor of psychology and neuroscience.

“They’re doing exactly what I would have recommended,” Pietri recalls thinking as she watched the film engage audiences with compelling stories supported by data.

Now, Pietri’s latest research explores how storytelling can be a powerful tool for shifting perceptions about gender bias and creating more inclusive environments. It supports what filmmakers have long believed—that stories can change culture.

Why facts alone aren’t enough

Traditional diversity training in STEM often follows a familiar formula: workshops, slideshows and statistical breakdowns of workplace disparities. Though well intentioned, such initiatives often fail to change minds.

Facts alone, it turns out, aren’t always enough.

“It’s easy when you hear one story, especially if you aren’t motivated to believe it, to think, ‘Well that was just you,’” Pietri explains. “But if we have some data to back that story up, the combination can be more persuasive.”

Her studies in social psychology reveal that the most effective interventions engage both the rational and emotional centers of the brain. This phenomenon, known as narrative persuasion, happens when people become absorbed in a story.

In short, emotional investment makes us more likely to find a new perspective and reconsider past assumptions.

“Having communications that use both stories and the data can be really powerful. And I think documentaries are a unique platform to do that,” Pietri says.

That’s precisely what makes Picture a Scientist effective. The film follows three women in STEM careers who recount their experiences with bias, harassment and institutional roadblocks. Their stories create an emotional connection, making it difficult for viewers to dismiss sexism as an abstract problem.

A case study in narrative persuasion

When Picture a Scientist arrived in 2020, its timing created an unusual moment. The COVID-19 pandemic had forced companies and universities to rethink their approach to workplace training, including diversity programs.

Traditional workshops, which already struggled to engage audiences, were relegated to Zoom. But the documentary offered a more compelling alternative.

Pietri and her colleagues saw an opportunity.

The filmmakers had already consulted with her during production, but after the film’s release, they proposed a new collaboration—testing whether it was truly changing attitudes and behaviors.

“Often diversity interventions are not evaluated,” Pietri says. “You could do a diversity training, and it could have worse effects or just no effect, and you’ve wasted all these resources.”

The filmmakers behind Picture a Scientist worked with ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researcher Eva Pietra to study whether the film's approach to addressing bias in STEM was truly changing attitudes and behaviors. (Photo: Uprising Production)

So Pietri and her team designed a study to measure the documentary’s impact. They found that Picture a Scientist was prompting real-world action, not just raising awareness.

“One of the most consistent findings we saw was with information seeking. The more people felt transported, the more they engaged emotionally with the film, the more likely they were to want to learn more about gender bias,” she explains.

Likewise, the study showed that this information-seeking behavior often persists after the initial screening.

“One really positive finding is that people who watch the film are motivated to continue looking up these issues and figuring out how they can make their workplace more equitable. They’re putting themselves in a position to keep gaining knowledge,” Pietri says.

Indeed, participants surveyed a month or more after watching the film reported stronger effects than those who answered immediately, suggesting that the film’s impact is long-lasting.

Pietri believes its entertainment value is partly responsible.

“I mean, this documentary is created by filmmakers, right? They’re not just academics. They know how to create something that’s really entertaining,” she says. “That’s why it was streaming on Netflix, because people, even outside their institutions, are just excited to watch it.”

Of course, stories don’t just educate. They also inspire.

Traditional bias training often focuses on the barriers marginalized groups face, which, while important, can leave viewers feeling hopeless rather than empowered. But when Picture a Scientist viewers see women overcoming challenges, it creates something valuable: role models.

“The film doesn’t just show bias,” Pietri says; “it also highlights these incredible women in STEM. And for students, especially female students of color, that representation is powerful.”

Limiting objections and creating change

Research shows that when people feel forced into a training session, they often react defensively, resisting the very ideas the program promotes. But storytelling doesn’t elicit the same pushback. Instead of feeling lectured, viewers become immersed in a story where they can process difficult topics with less resistance.

"One really positive finding is that people who watch the film are motivated to continue looking up these issues and figuring out how they can make their workplace more equitable. They’re putting themselves in a position to keep gaining knowledge"

That’s one reason Pietri believes storytelling and creative interventions will play an important role in the future of diversity training in STEM.

“This story-based approach addresses some of the limitations of traditional diversity workshops. Aside from people maybe being actually excited to see it and participate, it’s also very scalable,” Pietri says.

“We can show it without having to train facilitators or fly people out to host a panel or host multiple live sessions over Zoom. It’s really easy to scale and it’s not super expensive,” she adds.

Training alone won’t eliminate STEM’s gender-bias problem. However, Pietri’s work suggests that the right intervention can make a difference.

“I think one danger with anything that talks about bias is that it might dishearten people,” she says. “But storytelling, when done right, can motivate people to do something about it.”

Perhaps the most important lesson is that when building a more inclusive STEM community, in a field that thrives on innovation, a good story can be just as efficacious as the right experiment.

“If we can use the small windows for change opened by stories like this to make progress in reducing inequality and suffering, that would be a real win for current and future generations,” Pietri says.

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��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� researcher Eva Pietri studies how stories can help address gender bias and create inclusivity.

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